Click Here to view Current Events at Woodlawn Nature Center

We have four major projects at Woodlawn Nature Center that are very exciting. These projects are designed as a breath of FUN for all ages, with interactive displays, video and audio, things that children can touch and explore, and wonders for all ages to enjoy. The nature center will NOT be closed while we are building the displays. We figure half the fun will be seeing how things are built as well.

Real Monsters
proposed launch in January 2010
The “Real Monsters” exhibit highlights the pre-historical depth of bio-diversity, putting our own time in perspective.  It demonstrates on one hand life’s fragility, as seen from past extinctions; and on the other hand life’s robust adapt-ably, as revealed in the magnitude of past epochs and the survival of dinosaur descendants, including modern birds.

Michiana Alive
“Michiana Alive” showcases local plants, animals, and habitat.  It provides a panoramic view of our environment which includes forest, wetlands, dunes, lakes, streams, and the newest emergent habitats of cultivated fields, lawns, concrete and asphalt.  One key feature of this exhibit is preservation through taxidermy and its ties into other such displays throughout the museum, both indoor and out.

Space Ship Elkhart
“Starship Elkhart” opens up the entire sky as part of our local landscape and considers our unique perspective on this great life-filled ark traveling through space.  It features a miniature ‘Atwood Sphere’ planetarium that displays the motion of the stars and aids in identification of constellations.  It strives to put our lives into the wider perspective of deep time and space and appreciation for the fact that all nature is made of stardust.

Going Native
“Going Native” is an exhibit of aboriginal origins and primitive skills.  It focuses on the first people to inhabit the American upper Midwestern area, but also celebrates the pre-historic heritage of all the people who have made this their home.  It features Neolithic domestic technologies along with crafts, skills and wisdom of those who lived close to the earth.